Comprehensive Review of Social Psychology, Personality, and Drives

Attribution Theory

The mental process of inferring the causes of people's behavior.

Situational Attribution

Explaining behavior based on external factors.

Dispositional Attribution

Explaining behavior based on internal personality traits.

Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE)

The tendency to overestimate dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors when evaluating others.

Self-Serving Bias

The tendency to attribute our successes to internal factors and our failures to external factors.

Actor-Observer Bias

The tendency to attribute our own behavior to the situation while attributing others' behavior to their personality.

Just-World Phenomenon

The belief that the world is fair and people get what they deserve.

Prejudice

An unjustifiable (and usually negative) attitude toward a group and its members.

Stereotype

A generalized belief about a group of people.

Discrimination

Unjustifiable negative behavior toward a group.

In-group Bias

The tendency to favor our own group over the out-group.

Scapegoat Theory

Prejudice offers an outlet for anger by providing someone to blame.

Aggression

Any physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt or destroy.

Frustration-Aggression Principle

Frustration creates anger, which can generate aggression.

Social Scripts

Culturally modeled guides for how to act in various situations.

Altruism

The unselfish regard for the welfare of others.

Bystander Effect

The tendency for any given bystander to be less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.

Diffusion of Responsibility

We assume someone else will handle an emergency.

Theories of Helping

Frameworks explaining why people help one another.

Social Exchange Theory

Our social behavior is an exchange process to maximize benefits and minimize costs.

Reciprocity Norm

An expectation that people will help those who have helped them.

Proximity

Geographic nearness, a powerful predictor of friendship.

Mere Exposure Effect

Repeated exposure to novel stimuli increases liking of them.

Physical Attractiveness

The first thing we notice about others, associated with the halo effect.

Similarity

We like those who share our attitudes and beliefs.

Psychodynamic Perspective

Focuses on the unconscious mind and childhood experiences.

Id

The unconscious energy striving to satisfy basic drives.

Ego

The largely conscious part of personality that mediates between the id and reality.

Superego

Represents internalized ideals and provides standards for judgment.

Defense Mechanisms

The ego's methods of reducing anxiety by distorting reality.

Repression

Banishing anxiety-arousing thoughts from consciousness.

Regression

Retreating to an earlier, more infantile stage of development.

Reaction Formation

Switching unacceptable impulses into their opposites.

Projection

Attributing one’s threatening impulses to others.

Rationalization

Offering self-justifying explanations instead of the real reasons.

Displacement

Shifting impulses toward a more acceptable object.

Sublimation

Channeling frustrated impulses into productive activities.

Projective Tests

Tools used by psychoanalysts to reveal the unconscious.

Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow's theory that we must satisfy lower needs before higher ones.

Self-Concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves.

Trait Perspective

Focuses on describing personality traits rather than their origins.

Big Five Factors

Traits measured by conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness, and extraversion.

Reciprocal Determinism

The interaction of behavior, internal cognition, and environment.

Self-Efficacy

One's sense of competence and effectiveness.

Locus of Control

Belief about the extent of control over events in one's life.

Drive-Reduction Theory

A physiological need creates a drive that motivates an organism to satisfy the need.

Incentive Theory

Behavior is motivated by internal drives and external incentives.

Arousal Theory

We seek an optimal level of arousal for performance.

Glucose

The form of sugar that circulates in the blood and triggers hunger.

Hypothalamus

The control center for hunger regulation.

James-Lange Theory

Arousal leads to the experience of emotion.

Cannon-Bard Theory

Arousal and emotion occur simultaneously.

Schachter-Singer Theory

Arousal and cognitive label lead to emotion.

Zajonc/LeDoux Theory

Some emotional responses happen instantly without conscious thought.

Lazarus Theory

Cognitive appraisal defines emotion.